Red Moon by David S. Michaels & Daniel Brenton

Recently, we had the distinct pleasure of reading Red Moon by David S. Michaels & Daniel Brenton. It is a near future action thriller that posits an alternate history; could the Russians actually have secretly landed on the Moon before Armstrong? The book itself is a fascinating look into the clandestine Russian Moon program, and an interesting glimpse at what might have been. Warning; spoilers beyond!

The setting is 2019, and a new space initiative has come to the Moon in search of the “Mother Lode” a rich deposit of Helium 3 that will solve the free worlds’ energy woes. This in fact is a real idea. What is discovered in the aptly named Sea of Crises is totally unexpected; a 60′s vintage Russian lander! Covered up as the unmanned probe Luna 15, the lander was to have “scooped” Apollo 11 and landed the first man on the Moon on what turned out to be a one way suicide mission. This isn’t as far fetched as it sounds; there were ideas early on to land a man on the Moon on a one way trip, resupply him periodically, and then return him when feasible. Intrigue and double crosses soon follow, as more evidence both in Moscow and on the Moon come to light. Several of the “Firebird” (The name of the ill-fated Russian lander) documents were in the “Above Top Secret” range. Maybe they have Elvis’ brain and the recipe for new Coke, as well!

The authors obviously did their homework; the enormous Proton rocket and several elements of the early Soviet space program were real beasts. Much has been said about the American Apollo program; very little has ever been mentioned about is shadowy Soviet cousin. The Russians were in the habit of revealing accomplishment only when or if they were successes. Hence the United States enlisted volunteers via the Moonwatch program in an effort to keep tabs on them. It even led to the ridiculous, such as Project Blue Book to investigate UFO’s, and Project Star gate to investigate remote viewing claims. Such was the hysteria of the Cold War; if the Russians were doing it, how could we afford not to? Cool side note: anyone remember the old 70′s “Project U.F.O“ TV series? It was like the X-files without Scully!

But I digress… another cool facet of the book is a good description of what it’s actually like on the lunar surface. Again, the writers did their homework… right down to the lunar soil having a “gunpowder smell” which was a real description given by Apollo astronauts upon return to the command module. As the new NASA initiative amps up over the next decade, a new generation will become familiar with adventures on the lunar surface.

The action itself picks up toward the tail end of the book. As Project Prometheus explores the cold war era landing site, intrigue and double crosses abound, both on the Moon and on the energy starved Earth. What happened to cosmonaut Belinsky? What were his last moments like? The timeline flashes between 2019 and 1969 through-out. As the crew is desperately seeking the almost mythical source, time is running out. Renewed hostilities between the East and West mirror old cold war sediments as a modern US and Europe face off with the Chinese and Middle Eastern blocs in the form of the “Caliphate” (sound familiar?)

One tiny error; I ran a simulation for the date of September 3, 1969 as seen from the Sea of Crises; sorry guys, sunset wasn’t even close! A tiny mistake, I know…but it was fun to watch the Earth never set, as the doomed cosmonaut would have!

But much of the history is real. The authors obviously did their research on the early space program. Not many “alternate histories” weave reality in so skillfully. The Proton and Luna 15 were all real creations, and the idea all too plausible. As we return to the Moon, hopefully to stay this time, the old Apollo missions will move to the forefront of national conscience.

Read Red Moon, to get a glimpse of an earlier, forgotten era. And hell, the intrigue makes it just good fun! Although the Cold War may be fading away into history, its lessons do not. Folks forget just how desperate those times were! Hopefully, there will be a peaceful, Antarctica-like effort to establish a permanent lunar presence the next time ‘round.

And check out the Red Moon website; you can even download three chapters free of charge!

…and note the concern of early cosmonauts in this cool “Dear Leonid” letter!

And finally, for more on the secret Soviet space program check out this online Nova episode!

Astro Documentaries

Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.

DIY Astronomy

Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.

The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.

Astronomy Gear Reviews

Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.

Astronomical Observing Targets

Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.

Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.

A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.